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Frankfurt Main Airport Passenger Reviews & Customer Opinions |
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FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 19 March 2011 by M Preston (South Africa)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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I stopped travelling via FRA about 3 years ago after several unpleasant, for all the reasons
mentioned by others, transits in a short space of time. Last week I had no choice but to use
this airport and was expecting it to be bad. It was worse than I had imagined, with
impossibly long queues for check-in and passport control between non-Schengen to Schengen,
long walks, poor signposting, everything that others have stated. It's a pity and for this
reason I will avoid flying LH in future unless I can hub through MUC. I know LH don't own the
airport but they are the biggest operator and ought to be able to influence better service
delivery.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 15 March 2011 by Yevheniy Kahanovych (Ukraine)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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After reading horror stories about transit at Frankfurt, I booked a ticket with 6 hour layover
- how smart decision was it! Not just because Lufthansa delayed my inbound flight by 2 hours,
but even then having 4 hours to spend on transit, I just made my connecting flight. I was
connecting from non-shengen to shengen area of the airport. Immigration was open in the
following proportion: 6 desks for eu passports (fairly empty) and 4 desks for the rest of the
world. No line management, no idea of what waiting time is and around 300+ pax from ex-China
flights arrived at the same time. After 20 minutes of looking for someone who should expedite
us to the right line, I've just came to the eu desk (I'm not eu citizen) and went through it,
however need to say that the officer was quite rude, asked me for "invitation" despite the
valid visa been in passport, so it took twice the time it needed. Then another escalator
flight down, and quite long line for security where all duty free alcohol is confiscated even
if sealed and cleared for being taken aboard. Then 20 minutes of trying to get to the right
lift going to Schengen A gates. There you're locked into a long wing of the terminal with
couple eateries and nothing to do even for a short stop. Toilets smelly and not properly
cleaned. In no way this airport is 4 star facility. And never again will I use it for
transit.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 25 January 2011 by George Attwood (New Zealand)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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After a very long flight from New Zealand via Thailand I arrived at Frankfurt airport and can
honestly say that I have never met such rude and crass staff in 20 years of international
travel. Transit from one terminal to another was fine with a shuttle train but the security
queues were chaotic and managed in a very rude manner. I noted that few of the staff were
actually proper Germans. The spectre of staff shouting at each other at 530am was not
civilized. The Lufthansa ground staff are shockingly rude and I will not use Frankfurt airport
again. There are more civilized alternatives!
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 22 January 2011 by Peter Rejchrt (UK)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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Travelled through here en route from LHR to JNB and from CPT to LHR - Frankfurt is now close
to being the worst in Europe. A once great airport for connections has been transformed into
hell. Long walks along dingy, dimly lit corridors, many without travelators. Security
checkpoints are a disgrace with mostly rude staff, EUR1 charges for additional LAGs clear
plastic bags and horrendous queues. The separate queues for premium passengers were closed on
both legs of transiting this airport. After the landing we were met with closed doors,
something in which LHR used to specialise. Even with First Class tickets on the return leg,
everyone must go through the same security checkpoints, again with no premium lanes and long
queues already at 5.30am.It is a shame MUC does not have the number of connections as FRA as
this is a much more civilised airport. FRA as a connecting point should be avoided unless
desperate. Also, the provision of internet connection facilities lags behind anywhere else in
the world - not sure if this is an airport or airline user issue.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 4 January 2011 by K Chen (USA)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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We flew out of this airport two weeks ago. It was the most frustrating airport experience that
we've ever had. They have the doors leading to the check-in area blocked, so it created a huge
bottle neck of people trying to get to the check-in and baggage drop off areas in Terminal 1.
There was a nice gentlemen who looked to be a manger. He stepped in and helkped us, and even
let us skip in the first class line. If it weren't for him, we would have missed our flight.
We got there 3 hours early, and got through security and to our gate right as our flight was
boarding. Security was ok, but once we passed there was a second security set up for Lufthansa
which took a long time to get through, and we were number 4 in the line. Once we got on the
plane, we had to de-board because security had somehow messed up. So, we spent another hour or
so driving in circles on a bus around the airport before being taken back to the airport, and
had to go back through security. They were nice and let us through early, since we had two
small kids. Then we had to go back to the bus, and wait for everyone to show up. Then, we were
taken back to the plane. After waiting to have the plane de-iced, we finally departed. We
arrived at our destination 5 hours later than what the itinerary was set for. We got there
just in time to secure our rental and call the hotel before our reservation had been
cancelled. I love Germany, but I hope to never fly from this airport again!
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 18 December 2010 by Mathias Binder (Switzerland)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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I arrived from the US with one hour delay. I still had more than 2 hours for my connecting
flight. Unfortunately the gate was not available so we got apron parking. The buses waited
until the very last person left the plane. it took me 110 minutes to get trough the security.
Like many people around me, I watched boarding and flight times come and go as they waited.
But nobody cared about that. They had only 3 lanes open for all departures from A Gates. The
staff were unhelpful. They urgently needed to open more lanes and wouldn't do so. A Supervisor
explained that the staff was having lunch. But after 90 minutes still only 3 lanes were open.
They were also incredibly slow. May be they were on go-slow but it has never taken me so long
to get myself and my bag through. Almost everybody set the scanner off and was searched,
completely unnecessarily. Almost every bag was searched after X-ray, completely unnecessarily.
A very, very poor customer experience. It will make me think twice about flying Lufthansa
again so that I don't have to use that terminal.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 15 December 2010 by D Tyler (UK)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1B is obviously not properly set up for international departures.
If took me 90 mins to clear security. Fortunately I had allowed plenty of time and just made
my flight. Many people around me watched their boarding and flight times come and go as they
waited. They had only 2 lanes open for all departures from B Gates. The staff were unhelpful.
They urgently needed to open more lanes and wouldn't do so. They were also incredibly slow.
May be they were on go-slow but it has never taken me so long to get myself and my bag
through. Almost everybody set the scanner off and was searched, completely unnecessarily.
Almost every bag was searched after X-ray, completely unnecessarily. A very, very poor
customer experience. It will make me think twice about flying Lufthansa again so that I don't
have to use that terminal.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 28 November 2010 by Kurt Mueller (Germany)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Whilst the German populace at large had been made aware of impending cold weather and snowfall
for the preceding five days, the operators of Frankfurt Airport were clearly caught with their
pants down on 27th November. Our EK flight, scheduled for 1425 departure, was finally
serviced by the de-icing vehicles at the gate at 1505. Then, the aircraft was not pushed back
until 1600. Why is such an antiquated de-icing process used in the first place? Much easier
and more efficient to de-ice aircraft at the end of the taxiway immediately prior to take-off.
As a result of Fraport's wonderful incapability, our flight was also put in a 30-minute
holding pattern overhead DXB. I am puzzled to see that Fraport advertise their "expertise" for
sale to other airport operators.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 24 November 2010 by Peter Goldsbury (Japan)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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Other reviews have emphasized just how awful changing flights is here and my experience was no
exception, though my return flight from Geneva to Osaka was an exception. And my experience
has been confined to Terminal 1. On a recent trip it took two hours to go from Gate C13 to
Gate A40. There was just one official checking passports at the immigration gate for entering
the Schengen zone, so loads of passengers were pushing in, with varying degrees of politeness,
because of their earlier flights. On the other hand, transferring from Gate A34 to B23 was
very smooth, with the moving walkway in the connecting tunnel being fully functional and
hardly anyone at the passport control. However, after passing through passport control so
quickly, I had to waste time checking the departure gate for my flight. The departure gate for
my flight to Osaka was posted on the monitors at Gate A34, but not on the monitors just
outside the passport control. So I was wondering if there had been a gate change. Finally,
boarding the flight by row numbers proved chaotic, though this might have been due to
Lufthansa. Transferring via Frankfurt is like being an out-patient in a very poor, ill-
equipped hospital. This is because the publicity suggests that it is a wholly therapeutic
experience.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 22 September 2010 by D Silverstone (USA)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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While brusque or unpleasant security and border checks are hardly unique to FRA, I've never
encountered shop staff so unpleasant as in a recent trip connecting through the US flights
area. At one coffee shop, they even began mocking a customer (in German, of course) who had
the nerve to request a bag to carry a muffin with her to the plane (and what kind of airport
coffee shop doesn't have containers to let you carry stuff aboard with you?)! Beyond the
obvious personnel problems, FRA is cursed with a horrible design that goes to extreme lengths
to sort passengers into areas based on their destinations - and clearly wasn't originally
designed to do so. Signage is atrocious - one sign actually had marker scrawled on it by
staff to clarify just which gates were in which direction. A horror to navigate, made worse
by the constant fear that turning the next corner will accidentally take you outside of one
border/security area and require you to pass through that whole process over again. All this
makes for a horrible journey point, and I haven't even got to the interminable busses between
plane stands and the terminals.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 29 August 2010 by D Wilson (UK)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Arrived FRA by RailAir from Stuttgart, with 3.5 hours before onward flight to Manchester. Took
2 hours from leaving the train to getting thru security and passport control and sitting down
for a cup of coffee. Just read previous posts. Massive lines at bag-drop/check-in desks in
the main hall (so we went back to the bag-drop close to the station), 15 minute line at
security gates and only 4 out of 12 staffed, 20 minutes wait at passport control during which
time one officer disappeared for 5 minutes, and another disappeared completely never to be
seen again so suddenly my line was effectively twice as long. Very poor signage, compensated
however by very helpful and numerous ground staff.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 27 August 2010 by L Davis (Australia)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Looks like my experience was not uncommon. Confusing signage and building design, but its
the security that's the most confronting. They are rudest and most aggressive I have
experienced - not just to passengers but to their own colleagues as well. The full body
frisking was done in a very aggressive manner - I don't know what they expect to get from
Xraying my passport and boarding pass. I passed through Tokyo transit security and the end of
the flight wearing the same clothes and with the same luggage without any incident and all
with a pleasant smile from security.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 1 August 2010 by R Persson (Sweden)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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Signs are many and very confusing. Granted, everything is there as far shopping and
conveniences of all sorts are concerned - but to find them and to find your flight elsewhere
is a problem. I think that the architecture and structure of the airport is flawed. It has
grown too fast and changed so many times to accommodate new legislation and growing number of
passengers that travellers do not manage to get a feeling of direction anymore.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 24 June 2010 by E Pope (USA)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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I travel to Frankfurt every year on vacation, usually May-Sep. I am a German-American and
speak fluent German and English, but I always have to ask several times at this airport. I
know how to follow signs, but here they often lead to nothing; the signage has to be upgraded.
The personnel I have asked have been supportive, but not always clear. I have had layovers at
many airports internationally, but Frankfurt has been the worst. This is coming from a German
who loves her country!
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 27 April 2010 by Kurt Mueller (Germany)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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I was just reminded why so many previous contributors have awarded this airport low ratings,
particularly for surly and rude staff. Arriving from Dubai the other day, I lined up at one of
the immigration counters marked "EU, EWR, CH". Just when it was my turn, a woman in a
fluorescent jacket moved in from left field. Feeling my physical resistance, she then muttered
"Excuse me, we have priority". She had two passengers in tow without EU passports. I suggested
she might make her own job easier if she asked people prior to trying to push them aside, upon
which she replied (with a straight face) "I just did ask you". As a native German speaker, I
can safely say that there was neither the intonation of a question or a please (usually
associated with asking) involved. I usually avoid Frankfurt but was forced to use it due to my
original itinerary having been disturbed by the volcanic ash saga.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 27 April 2010 by Paul Van Alsten (France)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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Departed from Terminal 2. It is quite time-consuming from the long-distance train platforms to
Terminal 2 building - long walks to reach the shuttle stop followed by a 10 mins bus drive.
The terminal itself is modern and clean. Check-in and security screening hassle-free. Staff
polite though not overly friendly. Airside there is not much to do in the Schengen area - a
duty-free shop, a small kiosk and an overpriced cafe. Toilet facilities are clean but hard to find.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 9 March 2010 by S Reiziger (US)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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We arrived at terminal 1 and went to the passport control where it was confusing and crowded
with passengers just arrived and did not know which lines they supposed to follow to get their
passport checked. The signs were all in German! Inside the terminal, though, the signs have
English subtitles which make it easier to find the train station. Departure gates were also
confusing, and very far apart with no place in between to buy refreshment.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 1 March 2010 by S Sayers (Denmark)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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I am a very frequent traveller and I can safely say that I have never in my life met such rude
staff as the ground staff in Frankfurt. It doesn't matter whether it is security, information
(which has misinformed me several times) or the snobs in the Lufthansa Lounges, which I have
access to. This place is just impossibly unpleasant. Pity, because facilities are actually
okay, and it could have been a nice place. If you are in transfer, matters are even worse.
This has got to be one of the worst airports to transfer from. If you have a choice, go for
Munich. People actually know how to smile and be efficient there.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 16 February 2010 by P Sihn (Sweden)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Flying from Copenhagen to Asia. Signs not clear. Difficult to find the transit check-in
counter. Bad planing of traffic flows. It can take more than an hour to pass the security and
constantly people arriving from the other gates can cut the lines. or you think you're close
to the security but the lines are merging constantly. Baby changing table only in the ladies
restroom.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 15 February 2010 by John Bachinski (Canada)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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Warning about taking a taxi from the Frankfurt Airport. We decided to take a taxi instead of
the hotel shuttle as we were tired and did not know how long until the next hotel shuttle.
Also, the phone service at the arrival level to the hotels did not seem to work. The taxi
driver went insane when he found out we were going only a short distance fare. He was very
vocal and aggressive and then started to drive wildly with speeds in excess on 170 KM/hour. We
noticed that he was had no intention to take us to out hotel but then accused us of giving him
the wrong hotel name. He wanted to take us downtown. I demanded the driver call his supervisor
who I advised that we were not going to pay this driver for the driver's error. The hotel
staff advised us that the normal fare was 12-14 Euros and he wanted 30 over Euros.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 2 February 2010 by Michael Allan (USA)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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The buses? The security? The service? We flew in from Venice to Frankfurt, connecting back
to the US (Philadelphia). Our flight from Venice (Lufthansa) was delayed by a mere 20 minutes
due to snow in Frankfurt, which wasn't a problem, I could have spent the day in the Venice
airport. Arriving in snowy Frankfurt we taxied out, way out, somewhere near the border with
Belgium near as I could tell and waited for the guys to get out of the truck and move the
stairs so we could get out of the plane. Took about 20 minutes for everyone to decide it was
time for us to deplane, not sure what the high-sign was, must be a secret. They didn't make
much of an effort to clear off or dry the stairs (can't imagine how scary it must have been
for people with larger pieces of luggage or carrying children) and we got on the bus for the
"terminal". After a leisurely drive we got to a "gate", which was some stairs, escalator, and
an elevator. Then the rush through the rat's maze to make our connecting flight began.
Which entailed up escalators, down some stairs, moving sidewalks, signage covered with colored
tape (presumably as a result of new security procedures), back to a long line leading up to
another security screening (we'd already had a full screening before departing Venice).
Security consisted of a line leading to an escalator (there were approximately 75 to 80+
people in line) where the attendant would allow 4 to 5 people up at a time to be screened.
This would have been reasonable had there been more than one metal detector. When we were
finally allowed up about 1 in 10 people made it through without requiring additional wanding
or patting down, meaning things didn't go very fast. The staff was also pretty abusive,
calling people "stupid" (in English, why insult someone in German if they may not understand
it) and having a general disdain for the entire process, not to mention ongoing conversations
with one another not having anything do with the screening process (I would have understood if
they'd insulted me in German). Then more dashing off to the "gate" - okay, it's not a "gate",
it's a "bus stop", stop calling it something it's not. We got on the last bus for the plane,
which meant we had to sit in the tunnel waiting for the last of the poor suckers still in the
security line to make it through. Which meant that we were sitting in the tunnel inhaling
exhaust fumes for about half an hour. They didn't bother to close the doors to the bus.
I will plan any future trips avoiding both Lufthansa and Frankfurt airport. I will also
recommend to anyone that asks to avoid any connections through Frankfurt and Lufthansa, they
just didn't seem to care. Advice for fellow travelers, if you are coming from the US, I'd make
any connections there in order to get a direct flight to your location. We'd have probably
been better off flying into either JFK or even backtracking to O'Hare, then flying direct.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 21 January 2010 by G Thomassin (Australia)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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Transit between LH flights (from BKK then to GVA) at terminal 1. Arriving in the early
morning, 10-15 people queue at immigration which went quite fast, agent spent the whole time
discussing with his colleague. Security check had several lines open and only 2 people in
front of me but it still took ages: had to put really everything through X-ray (even my
passport and boarding pass), then after having passed through the metal detector had to wait 5
minutes for my stuff stuck on the conveyor belt because the employee responsible to move the
trays for the last meter had decided to take a break (passenger in front of me tried to reach
for his tray and was quite impolitely told to not even think about it). Lots of walking
between my gates and then a long bus ride (with no heating despite the -7) to the plane.
Signage not extremely clear (felt it made me zigzag through the whole airport) but not as bad
as at CDG. Overall, the employees (immigration, security and LH ground personnel) were not
particularly polite nor friendly.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 21 January 2010 by M Harrell (USA)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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I went through the Frankfurt airport (FRA) on my way back to the US on January 18, 2010, after
new security procedures were in place, and it took an average of 2 minutes per person in line
to get through security. When I arrived at the security line, about 6 or 7 people were in
front of me, and it took 15 minutes to get through. They now open and search every bag, and I
had a pat down search because I set off the alarm even though I had less metal on me than I
have had at any airport before (glasses, wedding ring, and trouser clasp and zipper were all
the metal I could think of). I originally had 1 hour 50 minutes scheduled between flights at
Frankfurt, but that was cut to 1 hour because of weather delays. I almost missed my flight,
and now I will try to never have less than 3 hours scheduled for Frankfurt. For those who have
not connected through Frankfurt on their way to the U.S., you do not need to claim you checked
bags in Frankfurt, they just go onto the next plane. But you will need to go through security
and a passport check on your way from a regional flight to the US. flight. You also are
carried by shuttle from your regional plane (at least for some) to the terminal, so everyone
waits for the last person. That is another reason for why you would want more time for your
connection than you would need at most larger US airports.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 20 December 2009 by T Price (France)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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Terminal 1 at Frankfurt is huge and seriously in need of a re-vamp. Low ceilings with little
natural light and not many outside views. Typically efficient German service from check in to
boarding. But very little charm. Long term car parking at terminal is very expensive.
FRANKFURT MAIN AIRPORT customer review : 20 December 2009 by J Tan (Australia)
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |
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Terrible. Unfriendly, unwelcoming, confusing and unattractive. The size I can deal with, the
masses you expect, but is it so difficult to find some friendly people or a little
professionalism to staff the airport with? The general attitude of "it's not my problem - ask
someone else" covers the gamut from gate staff through to check in. Germany - this is not how
you want to leave an impression on your visitors.
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